Stone of the Wolf
by dragonbreath88
Summary: #5 in the Queen of the Universe series. Venus is morphing into her spirit animal, the Arctic Wolf, but before she can become a full morphling, she must find the Stone of the Wolf. Read the story for full summary. Please R&R


The Stone of the Wolf

Chapter 1 (venus pov)

As we stood on the bow of the ship, I breathed the salty sea air, enjoying the few days of relaxation that I got from this journey.

"VENUS!" Whined Mikey. Well, close to relaxation. I turned around to see that a recently turned tot/human Raph had Mikey in a chokehold trying to get Mikey who was also a tot/human. I left my position on the bow of the ship, to go and break up the fight between them, which was Larota's and Amoly's job, but they were no where to be seen.

"Alright you two, what's the problem this time?" I asked breaking them up. It was difficult but I managed to do it. Mikey immediately ran behind my, burying his face into my legs.

"Mikey called me a cheater after I beat him in arm wrestling!" said Raph, who I had to restrain after he tried to get back at Mikey. He growled, prompting me to glare at him, which made him step back for a moment.

"Raphael because of your actions, you will go down below for the rest of the journey. Michelangelo, you will also go down to your rooms until we will arrive in Africa. I will consult my sisters on what the rest of your punishment will be. Understand?"

"Yes Princess," they both said at the same time. They left, their hands hanging. When they left, I felt the tension dissolve and I immediately relaxed, doing a breathing exercise I learned in this universe's New York City.

"Hey Venus, what's up?" asked a voice. I turned to see Amoly, her blonde curls pulled up into the hairstyle of today, and her small figure wearing a pink puffy dress.

"Oh not much Amoly, " I said nonchalantly, "I just have been dealing with two of the four rambunctious children I have been babysitting since they became children, while my three sisters are doing lord knows what."

"I'm sorry Venus, we're trying to figure out why we are here in the first place." Explained Amoly. I was taken aback at her statement. I felt my temper rise to boiling point, which usually doesn't happen.

"Have you not been with us for the past six weeks? We are here to find one of the eleven stones of universe to bring balance back to it and for me to rule over the universe." I rubbed my temples, trying to suppress the throbbing headache that was inevitable. Wishing that they invented Tylenol at this point in history, I returned to the bow of the ship breathing in the air that dulled the light throb, with Amoly still behind me, looking down in shame.

"I'm sorry Venus." She repeated coming to put a hand on my shoulder. "Tanlena was wondering why in the eleven universes the Queen would send us to this time period, mostly because of the lack of advanced technology." She lowered her voice to just above a whisper, for safety's sake. "And mostly because she was wondering where a gem of great significance would be in the gigantic African jungle." I pondered that too for a while before the ship departed from New York. I even tried to contact the Queen who told me she didn't have the strength to pull off any more dream visions during the last time I was unconscious.

"I don't know," I confessed. "We'll figure that out once we find a place to stay for the next few days. If we can find a place to stay." Amoly nodded, yawning. I had to agree: it was getting pretty late, but thank Yuna we were almost to our destination.

"LAND AHOY!" Shouted Captain Jerold who was a well built man, with a shiny bald head.

"Amoly, I need you to gather up the others," I instructed her, pulling my extremely long hair up into a bun and smoothed my hiking clothes. "Tell them to conceal their weapons as best they can. I'll keep my out in the open just in case, cause we need to be ready no matter what." She started to leave, jogging towards the door that led to the sleeping quarters. "And Amoly," I called after her, "change out of that dress. You'll be able to fight much better in hiking gear."

She blushed and nodded, probably thinking I wouldn't notice that she was wearing her custom made dress, but I had. I turned back to island of Africa which was quickly coming into view, my heart pounding fast, I hoped, like the last dimension we have no trouble and no one hopefully, will get hurt. I rubbed my throat, which had a small half crescent scar in the middle from where Tanlena had stuck the endotracheal tube into my throat when the poison had closed my throat up in the last dimension. It was a reminder that even though I was the heir to the throne of the Universe, I wasn't invincible.

_Don't worry, young one, _said a voice, the Queen. _You're trials will begin to intensify greatly the moment you step foot on the soil of Africa. For now, keep your secrets close and don't tell anyone unless you feel you trust them completely. And a little hint: you will be looking for Chang'e, the moon goddess. She will guide you to the stone of the Wolf. Safe travels young one. _And with that the voice faded.

_Great_, I thought as the boat got near the docks, _well I guess we could use the challenge. _

At the docks…

Once we unloaded, a man wearing a blue overcoat with a red tuck in tie and a white shirt greeted us. He had black hair, green eyes and a small moustache. He was talking with two men, one, which was tall, and sticky, with bright red hair and blue eyes, the other one chubby, with black hair and green eyes. Both of them wore uniforms, which seemed to be near dirty rags.

"Ah, bonjour Mademoiselles and Monsieurs!" he said when he turned around. "I am Monsieur Dumont, proprietor of Dumont Trading Post. If there is anything you need, do not hesitate to ask." He brought my hand up to his lip and kissed it, like a gentleman. I heard a little huff and turned to see little Leo cross his arms and pout.

"Thank you so much for your hospitality Monsieur Dumont." I said bowing. "My name is Venus, and these are my brothers and sisters. This is Larota, Tanlena, Amoly, Leo, Raph, Donnie and Mikey." As I gestured to each one, they all bowed respectfully, just like I told them. He kissed the girls' hand, which seemed to shock the boys, and shook hands with the young tots.

"Tell me, are you here for an exploration Mademoiselle Venus?" asked Monsieur Dumont, leading us to the trading post and me by the arm. "It is not often that a woman of such beauty like your self come looking for adventure."

"Why thank you, Monsieur Dumont," I said, the complement making me blush." And yes we are. I was always fascinated with the stories and tales I read when I was small, so I decided to come and see if I could live up to the expectations of the great explorers. My brother Don also has a fascination with Africa. Don't you Don?"

"Yes ma'am." Don said, in his polite way. "I want to learn about the type of plant species, and butterfly species that live here. It's very interesting."

"Ah, it is so nice to see the youth of today interested in something as extraordinary as Africa." He said. We walked into the trading post and I had to say, nothing is more thrilling than walking into a wooden house filled with exotic spices, coffee beans, tealeaves, clothes, jewels, and all kinds of goods. Immediately, Leo went over to the tealeaves, probably looking for his favorite type of tea, Don and Tanlena went over to look at the cameras, Raph and Larota just hung out with me, and Mikey and Amoly stayed out of the trading post playing in the sand.

"Well, if you want some advice," offered Monsieur Dumont, "the first rule of the jungle is no hunting. There is a wild man who is very protective of his jungle. If you are caught hunting any animal, especially the gorillas, you will be hurt quite bad."

"Thank you Monsieur Dumont," I said packing the supplies into a backpack. "And don't worry. I was raised by a strict honor code. I would never harm anyone or anything unless they intend me or my family harm."

"Well then, I wish you and your family luck." He said waving as we walked out of the trading post into the humid African jungle.

(Jane pov)

"Well this was quite the workout," I said to myself as I desperately tried to keep up with Tarzan as he swung from vine to vine. He stopped enough for me to catch up.

"Do you need me to carry you Jane?" he asked crouching down to all fours. I was breathing heavy and sweating but I was used to it. After all this is my home, I have been doing this since I was doing this ever since I married my jungle man.

"No, no, Tarzan," I said sitting down to rest for a little bit. "I'm quite alright." I sighed contently as he trudged over to where I was sitting. This was my daily routine, he was my husband and this was my home. The vine swinging, the exploring, the exciting adventures, the amazing friends….it was all perfect, except one thing was missing.

"Tarzan, how do you feel about children?" I asked hesitantly. He looked at me questionably.

"Why do you ask?"

I was hesitant but I had no reason to be. "Well I was just wondering. I mean most married couples have children to carry on their parents name."

"I still don't understand." He said simply. Tarzan was so simple, but he had been raised in a jungle where if you overcomplicated things you'd die.

"What I'm trying to say is-" suddenly a scream came out of nowhere somewhere in the jungle.

"I'll be right back," Tarzan said before jumping from the tree.

(Amoly pov)

"AHHHHH!" I screamed as the leopard approached, growling manacling. "VENUS! HELP ME!"

"AMOLY!" She shouted back, probably running towards me. "I'm coming! Hold on!" She jumped down, her chigiriki swinging, spooking the leopards. My sister bared her teeth, growling like an animal, her blue eyes flashing with pure rage. The leopards growled in response, but they got the message and lumbered off back into the jungle.

Venus was having trouble composing herself, and when she turned back she was covering her face with claw-like nails.

"Venus? Are you alright?" I touched her shoulder, and she grabbed my wrist. I gasp as I saw her beautiful face stretched into a wolf's muzzle, light blue ears sprouting from her hair. When she opened her mouth, she had a row full of sharp teeth and a tongue similar to a wolf.

"Amoly," she said, her eyes becoming less focused. "What's…what's happening to me?" I was completely speechless. I didn't know what was going on, but something felt wrong and when I looked down, I saw what it was. Venus's disguising spell, the one that makes use look human, was flickering back and forth between my turtle form and my human form. Which only meant one thing…

"Venus, your…your changing into some type of wolf." I said. The change must have been painful, because as soon as the words came out of my mouth, she screamed like a hot iron was burning her. A yell from the treetops told me that I needed to get both of us out of here and back to camp.

"Come on Venus, we need to move." I said pulling her up to her feet. With a final flicker, my human disguise melted into my original form and with it the use of my wings came and with one flap, I lifted into the air, carrying Venus bridal style. On the way up, I pasted a strange man in a brown loincloth, looking up at us with a curious look on his face.

_I would have to revisit that later, _I thought as I flew above the treetops, _right now I've got to get Venus back to camp._

Back at camp….

"Do you know who I am?" asked Tanlena. When we got back to camp, Tanlena had done a thorough check-up of Venus, but she didn't seem to find anything wrong with her, other than the wolf's face, extremely sharp teeth, claws, ears and a tail sprouting from her shorts. Looking around, I saw that everybody had transformed back into his or her original mutant turtle form.

Venus nodded. "You're my sister, Tanlena, guardian of the Earth and keeper of the Spark of the Earth."

"Do you know who you are?" Again Venus nodded.

"I am Venus De Milo, princess of the Universe, guardian of the Waters. I am daughter of Chung I." She answered. Tanlena just put her medical stuff away, still obviously baffled by the change. She still appeared human, more or less with the wolf's muzzle and the ears and the tail, but everyone else was in their mutant form.

"I can only imagine that this is a magical transformation," concluded Tanlena. "I noticed that earlier today, I had claws as well, but I never got a muzzle. Amoly, Larota did you get anything suspicious?"

"I got foxes ears," confessed Larota.

"I have small bumps that feel like horns coming in." I said feeling them. They seemed to be getting bigger since the last time I checked them.

"Let me see," commanded Tanlena taking out her magnifying glass. I pushed my blonde curls down, which have been enlarged due to the humidity, so Tanlena could look at the bumps. After looking at them closely, she picked up a small item from her table, and started to pick at it making it hurt.

"Ow, Tanlena, that hurts." I complained. She held up a small piece of the horn like bumps in her hand and took it over to her small laboratory.

"Fascinating," she muttered. We all gathered around her when she held up the small piece. "This 'bump' has the same qualities as a deer antler. I think I understand what's happening to us."

"What?" Pressed Venus. The genius just breathed slightly, like she was preparing for a long explanation.

"Well, I was doing some research on Queen Yuna, while we were at the trading post, and a book I found said something about a transformation stone."

"Transformation stone?" I asked confused. "I thought the stones we were looking for was for the Throne."

"They are." Said Tanlena putting her stuff away. "The transformation stone is also part of the Throne. The book said something that the Queen and her advisers could harness of this stone and transform into any animal they chose. But, we seem to be evolving without the stone…unless-"

"Unless there is one here in Africa," finished Venus. "But why am I transforming much faster than you guys?"

Tanlena was rubbing her chin, apparently stumped by the question. "Maybe it's your lineage. Or…" She kept naming things that might have been a possibility. Suddenly, the clouds parted to reveal a big fat moon surrounded by a thousand bright stars that shined like diamonds.

"Or the moon," said Venus, loud enough for me to hear. All of the sudden she screamed in agony and discomfort as her muzzle elongated, her nose turning black, her sharp teeth getting longer, and tan fur spreading. She fell to her knees, clutching her face. Soon she stopped, but when she looked up, her face was covered in a soft peach colored fur, which was the same color as her skin. Her wolf ears, which were the same color as her eyes, stuck out considerably, and her tail, which was also the same glacier blue, grew where it was swinging freely sticking out of her pants.

"What do we do now?" Asked Venus, panic clear in her voice. This must've scared her real well because she usually hides her fear extremely well.

"Well, I-I don't know," stuttered Tanlena. "I could fix an antidote, just strong enough to hold back the transformation until we get the stone, but I'll need some ingredients. Hopefully, Leo and the boys can go and get them." She looked around, probably looking for one of the boys. "Where are they?"

"Have any of you noticed how quiet it was this evening?" asked Larota probably coming to the same conclusion we all were coming to.

"Well, at least the only people here are Monsieur Dumont, and he's not going to come into the jungle any time soon." Said Venus.

"Um…about that," I said rubbing the back of my neck. "On the way here, there was a …um human in a loincloth."

"Well what are we waiting for," said Larota getting her weapons. "Let's go find them before these humans do."

(Jane pov)

"What are you talking about Tarzan?" I asked confused. He was telling daddy about the creature he encountered when he was investigating the scream.

"I'm saying I saw a giant turtle fly." He said.

"Are you saying that you saw a turtle being taken by an eagle? Or a hawk?" Asked daddy, trying to understand my husband. Tarzan shook his head, his brown hair flapping in his face.

"No," he persisted, "I saw a giant turtle with wings fly into the air carrying something that looked like a wolf."

Daddy went to the chalkboard and wiped it clear of anything, and picked up a piece of chalk. "Do you mind drawing a picture of the supposed flying turtle?" Tarzan nodded, walking on all fours to the chalkboard and took the chalk from daddy. He sniffed it once then drew, surprisingly well, a six-foot tall turtle with white wings, carrying a wolf-like creature.

"What do you make of it daddy?" I asked as he went over to suspect the drawing.

"Well, I don't know," he said stroking his white moustache with curiosity, "I would like to study this creature, but we need to find it. Can you take me to where you saw it?" Tarzan nodded, a slight smile playing on his lips. Suddenly, Tantor, a giant red elephant came stampeding in with Terk, one of Tarzan's gorilla friends, on his back.

"AHHHH! IT'S COMING!" Tantor yelled. Tarzan stepped in front of the panicky elephant that skittered to a stop, throwing the gorilla from the back.

"Tantor what is it?" asked Tarzan. Tantor was breathing heavy, but it soon slowed down considerably.

"There's some kind of creature caught in a poacher's net, just down by the river." He explained.

"Correction," said Terk, rather loudly, "there were four of them. Small, but green and looked similar to turtles."

"Turtles did you say?" daddy asked, perking up immediately. "We need to get going now. I'll grab my supplies." He rushed off to get his kit, while Tarzan, Terk and I boarded Tantor.

"As I was saying before Tarzan," I said trying to finish before, "I need to tell you something rather important Tarzan."

"What is it Jane? Is something wrong?" My husband asked worried.

"I'm...I'm-" I started.

"I'm ready to leave," daddy interrupted, hoping on Tantor's back, putting his hat on. "Let's leave before they escape. I want to get several blood samples." And with that we took off, faster than any elephant I've seen.

(Leo pov)

"Ow, Mikey that hurts." I said as I tried to move out from under Mikey. We were currently trapped in some poacher's net, with Don at the top, Raph and Mikey in the middle and me at the bottom. It was the most uncomfortable situation, mostly because my fear of heights, and we were pretty high up.

"Don can you get us down?" I asked my genius brother. I heard him mumble, and felt one of the ropes tug, probably Donnie testing the strength of the rope.

"Maybe," he said, "but at this height I doubt we'd walk away without a sprained ankle or a broken leg."

"And what are the chances of us getting a sprained ankle or broken leg?" asked Raph, who by the pull of the net, was trying to get comfortable.

"Um…I think about 1 out of 100." He said. "And not getting a broken leg or sprained ankle is 0.0000000005% out of 100."

"Good thing we're not above water." Stated Mikey.

"Actually, we'd be better above water," corrected Don. "it would be better cause we wouldn't have such a hard surface underneath us. Besides, I could use the bath."

I sighed. "We're going to have to the chances. Since Venus's spell failed, we can't be seen by anyone, and by the looks of things, the poachers that set this net up will be here around dawn."

"Okay, here's the plan," said Don, "I'll cut the top of the net, so you'll have at least five seconds to twist your body into an eagle dive so you won't get anything but a sore leg. Okay?"

"Okay," we said in unison.

"Leo toss me up your knife." Instructed Don. I got my splint head that I made that evening with great difficulty, but I managed to hand it off to Don. I heard him saw at the rope, and before long I heard the multiple string snapping,

Soon, the finally string snapped, and we tumbled, but I couldn't get into an eagle spread fast enough. When I landed, I heard a slight crack in my left leg and complete and utter pain flared up, making me scream.

"Leo, are you alright?" asked Don as he came from a bush. Mike and Raph landed on top of each other but hearing my pained cries they untangled themselves with out complaint and hurried over.

"No," I said, clutching my leg, which started to swell. "I think I broke my leg in the fall."

"Hmm." Said Don in his usual way. He gently tapped my knee, which felt like he punched it. "Yep. It's broken, but it's probably just a major fracture. Once we get back to camp, Venus can heal it with her healing water." I nodded, and he started to help me up. We started to walk, but it was difficult with the biggest limp ever, and pretty soon we had to sit, and I was breathing heavy, like I ran a marathon.

"Just…leave me," I panted, "I…am…. just slowing…you down." I glanced down at my leg, which was the size of a basketball.

"No way Fearless," said Raph. "We ain't leavin' no one behind. Come on, how about we make something to carry you easier? Or how about we try to rope an elephant and make it give us a ride?" Don seemed to consider this, but he shook his head.

"I'm afraid it won't be that simple," he said. "We're not in the part of the jungle where the elephants reside, and it's a six-day round trip on foot, and leaving Leo with his leg here without any way to defend himself from any predators, well, it'll be like leaving him here to die."

"Um…Don," said Mikey, his tone laced with worry.

"Not now Mikey," scolded Don. "Any way, as I was saying, it's just not a possibility. Unless one just wonders into this part, there is positively no way that we're going to fine an-"

"ELEPHANT!" Screamed Mikey. Sure enough, there was a giant red elephant stampeding our way. Everyone scattered in different directions, Mikey going with Don, and Raph heading up into a tree. I tried to follow Raph, but the moment I start climbing I fell right down, but I had to stop to rub the pain that started to make my leg pound with pain. Raph stopped and held his hand out, but the elephant was getting closer.

"No, go," I ordered. Raph hesitated, and looked towards the elephant concern obvious in his face. "GO!" And with that he fled up the tree.

After he had disappeared up the tree, I cowered in the shadow of one of the roots. The elephant stopped a few inches from where I was hiding, letting off one gorilla, and three humans. One of the humans was extremely ripped, and tan with long brown hair, and he was wearing only a brown loincloth. The other was a beautiful young woman, with brownish red hair, pale skin and she was wearing a yellow shirt with a green ragged skirt tied at the waist. The third human was a short pudgy man who had balding white hair and a white handle bar moustache. He wore a white button down shirt with a blue bow tie, with yellow pants.

The gorilla grunted and did some hand motions to which the man replied. "Yes I'm sure. The footprints lead in this direction. They are quite unusual don't you think Tarzan?" The question was directed at the extremely ripped man.

_That name…sounds familiar. _I thought as the man named Tarzan knelt down to look at one of the tracks we left.

"I have never seen footprints like this before, Professor. Though it seems like one of them is wounded." He said after studying the tracks for a few minutes.

"Do you think you can find out where they went?" Asked the woman, who had a British accent. Tarzan sniffed and tasted the dirt where our footprints were, shook his head.

"No Jane," he said, that name also ringing a bell. "Even though the tracks are fresh, they go in too many directions. Besides who knows how dangerous these things are." The gorilla did some more grunting and scratched its underarm, which prompted the elephant to blow his nose.

"We're not going to get eaten Tantor," said Tarzan to the elephant. "The leopards wouldn't dare come into this part of the jungle."

_I knew I recognized that name, _I thought, _this man is the legendary ape-man. _ I gasp audibly and immediately regretted it. Tarzan noticeably tensed and started to sniff around. He climbed up above the root where I was hiding, disappearing from my sight.

_Okay, _I thought taking deep, quiet breath. _You can do this. Run as fast as you can towards the bush where Mikey and Don are hiding. Breathe. Okay ready, GO!" _

I ran as fast as I could, despite the throbbing pain in my leg and the tears that blurred my vision. I was vaguely aware of Jane screaming along with the elephant, which reared up and gorilla, who started to chase me along with Tarzan. My foot must have caught a root, cause soon I was face to face with the dirt, my leg as swollen as ever. The ape-man got on top of me, making me cower a bit. He leaned in a little closer, his big nose inches away from my small face.

"Is this what startled you and Tantor?" asked Tarzan the elephant.

"Yeah, but there were more of them," said a new voice. The elephant walked over and looked down on me, and picked me up by my good leg by his trunk. "Four of them at least and they were upside down."

I screamed in terror and tried to wiggle my way out of his trunk, but unfortunately that required my left leg and it was so swollen and bruised it hurt to even think about it.

"Tantor, put that poor creature down," said the old guy. "I need to inspect its leg." The elephant complied, gently putting me down, and when he released my good legs, the Professor came up, but I tried to scoot away.

"It's alright sweetie," said Jane, holding her hands up in a placating fashion. "We just want to help you." I stopped trying to scoot away, as the Professor looked at my knee, mumbling something about strange creatures.

"Well, it's broken that's for sure but I need the rest of my medical supplies to determine the extent of it." Said the Professor. Jane bent down to pick me up, but I started to squirm again.

"Come on now," she said, her British accent a little cute. "We wont hurt you. We'll fix you up, and then we'll let you go back to your family. How does that sound?" Thinking about how we didn't have any medical supplies back at our camp, I relented and let her pick me up, and put me on the elephant. I looked back, and saw the other three look after me with worry. I shook my head, and mouthed, _don't _before the elephant picked up speed and they disappeared from sight.

(Raph pov)

Well, this is just great. A man in a loincloth with another man and woman has kidnapped Leo, who has a broken leg. Like I said before: Just. Great!

When the elephant that was carrying Leo disappeared, the two youngest immediately swarmed me.

"What are we going to do?" asked Mikey. "Who are those people? Where are they taking Leo?"

"Calm down Mikey," Don said. "What we need to do is tell Venus. She can get Leo out there."

. "Why can't we rescue Leo ourselves? I mean it's just one man in a loincloth, one old geezer, and a pansy." I stated, as we started to walk, to where I had no idea.

"Because Raph," said Don. "That man in the loincloth in the legendary Tarzan, who fought all kinds of animals, like a giant snake."

"So?" I asked unimpressed.

"So that guy can kick all of our butts in under five seconds and wouldn't break a sweat. We need to hope that Leo won't give any of our secrets away while he's under their care." There was an uncomfortable silence between the three of us, until Mikey asked the most important question of our lives

"So, who's gonna tell Venus?"

Chapter 2 (Tanlena pov)

"Are you sure?" I asked Venus as she continued to sniff the ground, her teak colored hair turning blue. We were on the hunt for the boys, but when came to a cross roads or cross trail. My oldest sister suddenly dropped to the ground and used the wolf's muzzle she had on her face to sniff the ground for a scent of any one of the boys. She said that the direction they had gone was to the left.

"Positive." She said unwaveringly. "The scent goes to the left, and the tracks helped too." I looked down, embarrassed to tiny three-toed footprints going towards the left trail.

"Oh right, heheh." I felt my cheeks get hot. Venus smirked, which looked extremely creepy with the wolf's muzzle, and started to walk, following the footprints. I smacked my face, sometimes I could be such a, um what's the word, oh idiot.

"Don't worry, Tanlena," said Amoly as I caught up. "We all have our moments sometime."

"Yeah," agreed Larota. "Take Amoly for example. Sometimes she has bouts of geniusness but that is extremely rare, like a wild buffalo."

"Totally," she said nodding, but she soon caught on to what Larota was saying. "Hey!" They started to wrestle shouting and cussing so bad that Master Chung I would have washed their mouths out with lye soap.

"Hey!" complained Venus, practically growling. "If you two would like to stop fighting like pups, we're here." She gestured to a small bush, which was decorated with beautifully bright red flowers.

"You can come out now boys," Venus said, her foot tapping impatiently. The bush rustled, and then parted to reveal Mikey, Raph and Don, all looking ashamed of something…and then I realized.

"Where's Leo?" asked Venus, practically reading my mind. Mikey looked away, and Raph rubbed the back of his neck. Only Don looked like he wanted to confess.

"Don, spill now," I ordered. He took a deep breath.

"Well, we went exploring, but we got caught in a poacher's net that was in a very high tree. We got out, but Leo fractured his leg, and before we could get away, some people came along and took Leo back to where ever." Venus looked like she was about to explode. Her round pupils suddenly turned into slits, and the blue tint at the scalp started to spread down to her shoulder.

"WHAT?!" She demanded. She grabbed Mikey's plastron and brought it up close to her face, snarling with foam coming out of her mouth. Larota and I moved in quickly to separate the two before Venus snapped Mikey's head off.

"VENUS! WHAT THE HELL?" I shouted ripping Mikey away. I handed the small turtle off to Amoly, who did a motherly check over to make sure he was all right. I turned to see Venus with a confused look on her face, looking at her hands like she couldn't believe they were hers.

"What-what happened?" she asked shock lining her face.

"You don't remember?" I asked surprised.

"I-I remember Mikey telling me that Leo was turtle-napped and then I blacked out," recalled Venus sitting down. She put her head in her hands and sighed sadly. The moon still shone bright in the sky but the various nocturnal creatures of the jungle were wide awaked, howling, or chittering, through the night.

"Maybe it's your transformation." I said, thinking long and hard and then something hit me. "You need to find the stone immediately."

"What?" she asked picked her head up. I was thinking long and hard before speaking my hypothesis.

"The stone that we are looking for, is probably responsible for our transformation but for some reason I don't know, you're transforming faster than us. Maybe it's because you're connected to it and the moon, which is stronger here." Something roared are in far off in the jungle, something that sounded big, but we continued after the echo died down.

"So, what we leave Leo along with those people while we find a stone in this god forsaken jungle?" Asked Venus. I shook my head, not really believing Venus would suggest that we leave Leo to the mercy of strangers.

"You can go search for it while we rescue Leo from those people." I proposed. Venus pondered the proposal but seeing how she had no choice and we were running out of time, she sighed and nodded.

"I better get going." She said standing. "Do you still have your shell cell?" I nodded and patted the pocket where it was tucked deep into my pocket of hiking gear.

"Good." She said, not bothering to ask if they get a signal, which they did. "I have mine. I'll contact you if I get into any danger." She glanced up at the moon, smiling. "Good luck girls." And with that she ran deep into the forest, heading towards the mountains.

"Good luck to you too." I mumbled as we set out to find Leo.

(Venus pov)

As I headed towards the mountains, the magical pull I felt grew stronger. The senses I had gained from the transformation were incredible, I was aware of all my surroundings. With my wolf ears, I heard everything from a fly getting trapped to the softest howler monkey in the trees. With my wolf's nose, I smelled all the deliciously ripe fruits like mangoes, pineapples, bananas, and some I couldn't recognize. It was amazing, the sights and smells and sounds of the African jungle before greedy people destroyed it.

_Just follow the pull_, my instincts said. Soon I reached the edge of the jungle and entered the area where the mountains began. I was climbing the mountain, my new claws acting as grappling hooks.

As I neared the middle of the mountain a cave appeared, with an opening that had sharp rocks hanging from the ceiling, making them look like teeth in the moonlight. The magical pull was undeniably strong at the mouth of the cave, so taking a deep breath I plunged into the cave. It was magnificent.

The walls were lined with all sizes of glacier blue diamonds that glowed, probably reflecting the light of the full moon that shone through a wall in the ceiling. A small waterfall at the very back of the cave emptied into a lagoon where at the bottom a small stone that glowed making the water shine.

"Welcome to the Cave of the Moon your highness," said a voice making me jump. I hit a stone or two, which tumbled into oblivion.

I turned around to see a beautiful woman, with tan skin; peach colored lips, perfect blue eyes, and snow white hair. She wore a silk blue dress, which was the color of a clear blue sky during winter. In her hand, she held a golden staff topped with a solid blue stone, that was the deepest blue I've ever seen, with a small amount of pink, purple and red, mixed in. We stood there in absolute silence; the only sound was the rushing water of the waterfall.

"So.." I started. The woman just lifted her head slightly, making her blue eyes flash with amusement.

"I see the you have started to transform into your guardian animal," she said, moving closer. She lifted my head with the top of her staff, making me stare her right in the eye. After glancing into her crystal blue eyes, her peach lips stretched into a full toothy smile. "Yes, the artic wolf is a most suitable choice for you." Truthfully, I didn't know how to respond to that.

"Uh, thanks?" I said, taking it as a compliment. A sudden thought occurred to me. "Are you Chang'e?"

"Yes, dear I am," she said sweeping her dress into a slight bow. "I am Chang'e, the moon goddess, and obedient and humbled servant to whoever sits on the Throne of the Universe and…" she paused for effect. "Guardian of the Stone of the Wolf, which by the looks of things, you're after."

"Yes, your highness," I said, bowing my head just slightly. "My sisters have also started to change too, but theirs are much slower than mine, which is why I came looking for it. And I was hoping it could change me back." The guardian just smiled a bit before licking her lips a little creepy.

"The stone will do that, and it will also grant you power over an creature of the night: wolves, bats, and so on." She walked over to the reflecting pool. "Do you know what else the moon is associated with?" Startled at the sudden change of subject, it took me a while to answer.

"T-time," I stuttered. I mentally kicked myself; hypothetically I suppose when one is meeting one of the deities she is going to be ruling over some time soon, I guess one could get a little nervous them. You know hypothetically.

"Yes time," she said dipping her hand in the pool, stirring the water. "Mawu, the African goddess of the moon, uses her powers to bring cooler temperatures to the African world. Dianna, or as the Greeks called her Artemis, use her powers to hunt at night, and the Egyptian god Khonsu…gambles souls for time, which I think is a nasty business, because someone is going to gamble for time and lose someone dear to them…anyway my point is that there are different moon deities all over the world, and most use their powers that were given to them very differently. But I am not a deity that belongs to any culture or religion. I was chosen by Queen Nova herself to guard the Stone of the Wolf if any of the other head deities decided to… break up so to speak.

"As time went on and the other Queens become spoiled, obsessed with power and looks, there was talk about cutting the line of Queens forever. So they all came to me, to find out the future. I told them I foresaw a great warrior with a gentle and pure heart would come along to save the universe. So they chose Yuna to rule until I felt that day come and it did. You are on this quest because I thought you were worthy, so I hastened your transformation to see just how worthy you are."

"So what does this have to do with the stone?" I asked as the moon started to set.

"To show me and the other deities you are worthy to bear the weight of the universe on your shoulders, you must complete a task for me. And then and only then will I give you the stone willingly." I thought about it, very long and very hard, but seeing how I didn't have a choice, I agreed.

"Excellent." Said the queen. She waved her staff over the water and searing pain started in my hind legs. I looked back to see them become completely engulfed in hair and I fell to my hands, which were turning into paws. I was transformed into an artic wolf completely.

"You're task is find Tublat, a gorilla who is feared throughout the jungle and challenge him. You may have no assistance or help from your family."

"But there are tons of gorillas in this jungle," I said, surprised I still spoke English. "How will I tell who is Tublat?" The Queen smiled.

"You'll know," she said simply. Outside the birds started to chirp as the sun started to rise, starting another long day for me. I turned to walk out before realizing that I wasn't clothed, which meant I wouldn't be able to call my family.

_Probably good thing too, _I thought, _I might've been tempted to call them for help. _I stopped at the opening of the cave when the goddess called me back.

"Oh and princess?" I turned. "The deadline is midnight. If you do not return by then I will assume that you have died. Do not fail me or this whole journey will be all for not." I bobbed my head and jolted, using my full nose to guide me.

_Okay just follow the smell of gorilla, _I thought as a rancid smell reached my nose. The trees and vines all pasted me at a blur probably due to the fact that I was going about 25 to 35 miles an hour. I stopped for a moment to listen and smell, not even winded yet, and I continued until I came to a stream. It was wide and swift, but thinking I could make it, I backed up and tensed.

"One, two, THREE!" My hind legs sprang up and I was just a paws-width away before the river was sweeping me along. I tried to paddle to the other side but it was just too swift.

"HELP!" I shouted, hoping someone would hear. "HELP ME!" Suddenly, rushing water entered my ears and I saw a waterfall. My energy restored I desperately tried to swim against the current, but it was futile.

When I was just about to give up hope, a "ahahahahahah," sound suddenly appeared and I glanced up to see a man with long brown hair and a loincloth swinging from a vine coming right towards me. But before he could reach me a wave knocked me back under water. I immediately came back up for air, coughing and sputtering, but the jungle man came in and picked me up out of the river right when I was at the edge of the waterfall.

_Talk about your cliffhanger, _I thought. (bada bum!). One I was on the shore I coughed up what was left of the water in my lungs out, gulping in air as though I had become a fish.

Once all the water was out I very carefully stood up and shook dry. I looked up to see the man standing a little too close for comfort but I smiled anyway.

"Are you alright?" he asked, his voice deep and rich.

"Yes," I said, smiling, "thank you for saving me. Now if you will please excuse me," I glanced up at the sky, and saw the sun climbing towards the high noon. "I must be going." I turned and ran straight for the other side of the jungle, while that man called after me.

"Wait you can't go this way," he said, getting in my view, which made me come to a skittered halt. "This leads to Tublat's land."

"I know," I said impatiently, moving around him. "That's where I am headed. Now if you don't mind I'd like to be alone." I left him hanging upside down. It wasn't long before he stopped me once more, but he was an all four. He stood up on his back legs, leaning into my face making me rather uncomfortable.

"Who are you? I have never seen you in the jungle before." He asked. I rolled my eyes and moved around him, but he followed me like a lost puppy.

"I'm an artic wolf," I answered as I continued to walk. "My name is Venus Da Milo and I am looking for Tublat because I am on a quest."

"What kind of quest?" he asked still keeping up with me even at the speed I was going. I rolled my eyes but then I remembered Don and how curious he was when I told him about my journey, all those moons ago.

"Just some quest that I can't speak of at the moment." I replied gently. "At the moment I need to find Tublat."

"Okay," he said simply. "I just need to warn you that Tublat is very dangerous. He's my enemy and seeks to kill me." I gave him a curious glance, but we continued to walk in silent. Stopping to make sure I was heading the right way, I smelled something revolting. It was the smell of unwashed gorilla.

"RAAAAAAAA!" Screamed a giant gorilla that dropped out of nowhere. It was huge, much bigger than any gorilla I'd ever seen, with patches of missing or matted hair, flies buzzing around him, one eye staring blankly ahead, the other red with fury, and a tuff of hair sticking straight up on his head.

"Well, well," said the gorilla who I had guessed was Tublat, "If isn't the hairless ape Tarzan and a small lap dog." I growled, which was much more scarier than usual and I felt the hairs on my back stand straight up.

"Are you the one they call Tublat?" I asked calmly trying to seem a little decent. The gorilla smiled menacingly and nodded.

"And who wants to know?" he asked stroking my muzzle, which I replied by snapping at his hand.

"I, Venus Da Milo, challenge you, Tublat, to one on one duel." I said standing straight up. "Winner takes all." Tublat chuckled at my challenge, but I narrowed my eyes.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you little lady," he said but I got the feeling something else was going through his mind. "I only fight gorillas." He hunkered off, and Tarzan grabbed me by the paw and started to drag me.

"Are you scared?" I shouted back. I was desperate to leave this place and get to the next one, so I acted brave. Tublat stopped mid-step, and I smiled at my trap. Men, whether they man or beast, do not like to be called cowards.

The gorilla turned, snarling and foam coming out of his mouth, making him even more unattractive than he already was. "Big words for a small pup," he said pounding the ground. "Do you want to test that theory?"

I got into the same stance he had gotten into. "Bring it, ugly." The giant gorilla roared, baring its ugly white fangs, and charged.

(Larota pov)

"So what's the plan?" I whispered to Tanlena as we stood looking at the spot where the boys said they took Leo. It was actually quite interesting, a small wooden camp, with tables loaded with books, test tubes, and all sorts of old junk. On a flagpole a British flag flew proudly in the wind. In the middle of the small camp, there were medical tools lined on the ground and on the table laid a small green turtle with blue eyes, and his left leg wrapped up in a cast, asleep under a blanket.

I glanced around, and using my fox ears that had completely grown but it didn't go with my skin tone, I carefully took a step into the clearing, glancing around to make sure the coast was clear. It was a miracle that no one was around and I made it to the table and I started to shake Leo awake.

"Leo," I whispered sing-songy. "Wake up, we need to go." Leo cracked open one eye, and sat up, yawning hugely and stretched.

"Where are we?" he asked groggily while he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"We're in Africa Leo," I said gently picking him up, careful not to bump his leg. "And now we're getting you out." Just as we were about to be in the clear, I heard an elephant roar, and a scream.

I turned back to see a small portly man with grey hair, a red elephant, a medium-size gorilla, and a beautiful skinny woman with red hair.

"Daddy, um, do you suppose that's the things mother?" she asked in a whisper, to the man, with a British accent very evident.

"Uh, do. You. Understand. Me?" The man asked, making it sound like I was an idiot. I made a face, my temper on a very tight leash, but unfortunately it snapped that moment.

"What do you take me for?! An idiot?!" I shouted, marching up to the people. "I am an extremely intelligent being who speaks two languages, bend the element of fire and just because I don't have wings and I have foxes ears doesn't mean I'm not intelligent! Thank you very much!" I crossed my arms, and I heard a smack, probably Tanlena hitting herself at the rashness of my decision. When I opened my eyes, the elephant had fainted, and the man, woman and the gorilla had their mouths opened to the floor.

"Ugh, I've got a headache," I said, clutching the bridge of my nose. "Anyway, now that I have talked and proved my intelligence, blah, blah, blah, yeah, I think you can come out know guys." Hesitantly, the rest of the gang came out, with Tanlena with her brownish ears, Amoly with her stubby antlers, and the boys, hiding shyly behind Tanlena's leg.

"Oh my word," said the small man breathlessly. "How extraordinary." The elephant started to stir, and once it got up it rubbed its own head with its trunk.

"Oh what happened?" It asked. "I had the strangest dream, Professor. You were there, Jane was there, Terk was there and one of the strangest things I've ever seen. It was like a giant talking turtle with strange e-" it stopped when it saw us, and when it did, it tensed up considerably, but it did not pass out again.

"I gotta lay off the mangoes," it said sitting down, causing us all to hover for a few seconds. Once everything settled down, the man and woman started to walk over to us acting like we were wild animals whom would run away if they made any moves that we thought were threatening. Not too far from the truth, actually we would pound them into the ground but I digress.

"Remarkable," said the Professor. "Truly remarkable." He tapped my foreleg, which made me growl.

"If you're done studying me, we'll be going," I said, picking up Leo.

"Now wait a minute Larota," said Tanlena, examining the man and woman. "Aren't you Professor Archimedes Q. Porter from England who came to study gorillas a year ago, but whose daughter, Jane Porter, got married to a man who was raised by the gorillas?" she asked in one breath. The man and woman both looked shocked at the question, but nodded all the same. She snapped two of her three fingers and shouted, "I knew it!" before shaking the professor's hand very vigorously.

"I am _so_ honored to meet you Professor Porter! I read one of your papers on dinosaurs and let me tell you that your theory of Methane gas vents is remarkably true," she blurted out.

"TANLENA!" scolded Amoly, who looked surprised that she was the one chastising her genius sister.

"Fascinating," said the professor, "you've been to Balusadar?"

"Better," Tanlena baited, leaning in with suspense. "I've travelled back in time. And get this: I'm from the future." I smacked my face in astonishment as the professor and the woman Tanlena identified as Jane, just looked at each other with surprise.

"How about we take a step back, and start from the beginning?" I asked putting a hand on my genius sister's shoulder. She blushed and we started to tell our life story and journey that all started in Japan.

(Venus pov)

The fight was not going well. At first, it looked like I was wining but Tublat soon gained the upper hand, smacking me around like a rag doll. I was hurt and bleeding, tired and sore, but unfortunately I had to keep going. This was starting to remind me of my fight with the Shadow Mistress, but at least then I had my ice magic. Now I have nothing but claws, and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth. Oh wait I have an idea.

I ran back towards the stream, hoping to lure him into a trap. He took the bait and ran after me, followed by Tarzan who was watching all of this from his place in the tree. Once I reached the river, I visualized what I wanted and a plan appeared in my mind. I backed towards the jungle, only to be stopped by Tublat's roaring form.

Backing up, Tublat smiled baring his big, dirty white fangs. "Looks like you've run out of options, runt." He taunted. I narrowed my eyes and growled, baring _my _teeth.

"Not just quite," I said and I jumped on his back. My hind legs pushed him into the swift current of the river, taking him downstream.

"I'LL GET YOU NEXT TIME BLALBABLABLA!" The last bit of the threat was washed away as he was pushed under water.

After the last sight of Tublat had disappeared, I plopped down on my belly, tired and hurt, but the sun was already dipping past the horizon so after a couple seconds of rest I decided to get my butt moving. Tarzan swooped by and landed next to me while I was getting a quick drink.

"You're hurt," he said, motioning to the large cut on my back. From experience, I knew that whatever happened on my back be it the biggest and deepest cut or the smallest scratch, they all heal and disappear once I have my shell back.

"It'll heal," I said simply. "Right now I have to worry about getting back before midnight."

"Why?" I chuckled just a little bit.

"My, you're a curious George," I said. He shook his head, making his hair flap.

"My name is Tarzan," he said, confusing me. Then I remembered that this was the early 1900s and that apes raised him.

"It's just an expression." I said. After I had my fill of water, I bolted back towards the other side of the jungle, where the goddess waited. It took me awhile but I finally noticed that Tarzan was easily running up next to me, which was incredible.

_Probably does a lot of cardio_, I thought jokingly. Soon we came to the mountain where Chang'e was waiting. And just in time too. Midnight was approaching fast, and I still had to climb up half a mountain.

"Wait here," I said to Tarzan as I jumped and started to climb. I was almost there… just a little further, but something happened. I put my back paw where some lose stone was and I soon stumbled, but caught myself with my front paw. Grunting and panting, I continued to climb, ignoring Tarzan's pleas for me to stop.

Finally I made it to the cave, where Chang'e stood over the reflection pool, humming some sort of lullaby in some language. I walked up behind her, but she stood before I could get any closer.

"Congratulations Princess you have completed the task with success." She said, moving towards me. "Now you must find the stone." She gestured to five pedestals that rose out of the cave floor all of the sudden. On them, there were five stones of different shades of blue and sizes.

"Choose the wrong one, and this whole cavern collapse, but choose the right one and you and your sisters may continue your journey." She said. I looked at the stones, feeling no magical pull from any of them, but I still felt it. I looked towards the queen, who was holding her staff. I walked a little closer to her, but I made it seem like I was getting a better look at the stone, and as soon as I took a step back, I felt the magic tug at me like a rope was tied to my waist.

I turned around and looked the goddess square in the eye and said, "Your staff." She looked confused.

"I beg your pardon?" I pointed my paw at the golden staff, where the beautiful blue stone mixed with purple, pink and red sat.

"That's the stone of the Wolf," I said confidently. The goddess looked at me then the stone, then back to me then back to the stone. This went on for a while, and then Chang'e smiled wide. She grabbed the stone off the top of the staff, making the golden stick disappear in smoke, and threw it to me. I was afraid that I would drop it and make it shatter, so I tried to hold up and catch, and when it landed, I had my normal three-fingered hand.

"Now that the stone is in your possession, you can transform in your human form," she explained, "the same thing goes for your sisters. Your wings will still work, but only when you are not in your animal form." I was a little confused at what she was saying but I guess that I would figure it out later.

"Thank you my lady," I curtsied the best I could without anything to curtsy with. I was about to leave, but the goddess called me back.

"Come and see what your future holds." She gestured to the reflection pool. I hesitated, but I had to see if I failed the universe and Queen Yuna or not.

Once I was crouched at the edge of the reflection pool, she waved her hand over the water mumbling some sort of spell. "This will show you the next phase of your journey."

The water rippled and then images appeared: small mechanical robots with some kind of weapon, blasting men in white armor. I couldn't see much of the background, but it looked like some sort of star ship. Suddenly, another giant robot with detachable arms appeared wielding several swords made of different colored light fighting two men, one wearing dark robes with dark brown hair, the other with bright red hair and a beard to match, who wore cream colored robes. Both of them had electric blue light swords, but then it went back to being a pool.

"On your next journey, you will be looking for half of a stone. The other half will be in another dimension will after this one. Now you must leave. You have wasted enough time here so you better hurry. Don't worry I'll provide the transport." She waved her hands and I felt myself disappear. I held my hands up to see that they were transparent and when I looked down, my whole body was transparent.

"Wait what about my sisters and my brothers?" I asked. The goddess just smiled.

"Don't worry, they'll be along." She said simply.

Back at the camp…. (Amoly pov)

"You're so funny professor," exclaimed Tanlena as she clutched her stomach.

"So let me get this straight: you were actually human, but then some one took you and experimented on you with a mutagen created by small brain squid?" Repeated the professor. Larota nodded, looking a little bit annoyed but other wise all right.

"Except for the little ones, who are actually sixteen years old. They were mutated from birth, after their adoptive father, who is a rat, was mutated along with them." I added. They both looked a little confused but not much as it did me when they explained.

Suddenly I felt weird, and when I looked down, I noticed I was transparent. I heard a screech to see Tanlena clutching Don, Raph clutching Larota, and Mikey was making his way over here with Leo.

"W-what's happening?" I asked scared.

"What about my sisters and brothers?" I heard Venus say.

"Don't worry," replied a soothing voice, "They'll be along soon."

"Goodbye Dr. Porter," said Tanlena quickly waving, "It was a pleasure meeting y-" She didn't get to finish before the two disappeared from sight and we went tumbling into oblivion.

_Epilogue_

_In a galaxy far, far away…._

_A space ship battle was happening between the Galactic Republic and the Separatist, mainly General Grievous. The head clanker was ordered by Count Dooku to attack the Republic blockade of Naboo and invade the planet once again. But the Jedi Counsel had quickly caught whiff of the Separatist plot and dispatched two of their greatest Jedi, Obi Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker, immediately. They were fighting when the two Jedi felt a disturbance in the force, so they stumbled, but they recovered quickly. _

_As soon as they recovered, they were thrown due to the Republic warships firing on the engines. The warrior turned droid took that chance to run as he plowed straight through our heroes before heading for an escape pod. The two Jedi also took that as their cue to run, heading towards the hanger bay where their star fighters were. _

"_What do you think that disturbance was?" asked Anakin Skywalker. Obi Wan just shrugged, with difficulty, but shrugged nonetheless._

_ "I don't know," he said panting, "but right now let's focus on escaping." _

_ "Right," said Anakin. Behind them an explosion happened throwing them faster down the corridor. Soon they reached the hanger bay, where a young, orange skinned Togruta was waving desperately for them to hurry up. At the last minute they made it, and they flew out of the ship before exploding into a million pieces behind them. _

Whatever that disturbance was, _thought the Chosen One, _we'll find it and then destroy it.


End file.
